Slorc closes in on Suu Kyi, aide sa

Subject: Slorc closes in on Suu Kyi, aide says
The Daily Yomiuri
December 5, 1996.
Myanmar military closes in on Suu Kyi, aide says
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Yangon ( Reuter )
Myanmar military authorities have restricted the movements of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been told she cannot leave her
house, an aide said Wednesday.
"It is virtual house arrest. We were informed yesterday that she
cannot leave her compound..." the aide said by telephone. He said no reason
were given for the action nor was Suu Kyi told how long the restriction
would remain in force.
In a separate statement, the human rights group Amnesty International
said five members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy ( NLD )'s youth
wing had been detained by the military after they had left her house compound
Tuesday. "The compound is now sealed and no one can enter or leave." Amnesty
said.
The restriction imposed on Suu Kyi by the State Law and Order
Restoration Council ( SLORC ) followed student protest that began at the Yangon
Institute of Technology late Monday and culminated in the heart of Yangon
before sunrise Tuesday.
Police detained about 300 of 400 student demontrators near the central
ShweDagon pagoda after they refused to disperse in the early hours of the
morning Tuesday.
The students were protesting what they call unfair police handling of a
brawl between some of their colleagues and restaurant owners in October. An
Slorc spokesman said Tuesday most of the detained students had been released
after their paper were checked to determine if they were "real students or
infiltrators."
The Slorc has not given the actual number of those who were held and
subsequently released. The authorities have barred access to Suu Kyi's
University Avenue residence since Tuesday.
When asked if the restriction on Suu Kyi may have been linked to the
Student protests, the aide said it was possible.
U.S. warns against use of force
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Washington ( Reuter )
The United States cautioned Myanmar military rulers Tuesday against
harming protesters involved in the country's biggest student demonstration
since 1988.
"We are calling upon the SLORC to respect the rights of the
demonstrators to assemble peacefully in the streets of the city and to
express their views," said State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns.
"We believe that no harm should come to them," Burns told reporters.
The Myanmar government should listen to students and to the opposition NLD,
led by Aung San Suu Kyi," and engage in a systematic conversation with them
about the future of the country," he said.
Washington has slapped a visa ban on senior SLORC officials and has
passed legislation allowing U.S President Bill Clinton to impose economic
santions if repression in Myanmar worsens.
Letter protests beating
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Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
Yangon - The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar sent a letter to the
Myanmar government Wednesday to protest police violence inflicted on a
local news assistant of The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The club strongly condemned the "inhumane and shameful" behavior
of the police. The Yomiuri Shimbun also lodged a strong protest with the
military government.
Myo Thant, a 39-year-old Myanmar national, was severely beaten by
more than 10 policemen while covering a student protest Tuesday.
The letter emphasized that Thant was on a routine and entirely
legal news-gathering assignment when he was attacked by the policemen. It
demanded that the authorities take "appropriate action " against the
policemen involved in the beating.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar is mainly comprised of
local journalists working for foreign media, including The Yomiuri Shimbun.
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Information Committee
Burma Youth Volunteer Association- Japan.